The greatest gift

"The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example."

Thomas Morell
1703-1784, Classical Scholar

Can Your Diet Prevent Depression?

"Depression is an established risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). Dietary factors resulting in lower levels of omega-3 fats not only increase CHD risk, but may also cause depression."

Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth

"The popularity of agave syrup, also called agave nectar, is on a meteoric rise -- thanks in large part to clever marketing which positions the product as a healthy alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners."

Quick and (Almost) Painless Ways to Kill Distractions

"Are you spending more time dealing with emails, IMs, phone calls, and random stray files than actually working? Here are ten actions you can do right now to kill distractions and get back to work."

Learn How to Detox with a Coconut Oil Cleanse

"(NaturalNews) With fad detox methods around every corner, it's hard to know which one can provide a healthy cleanse without unpleasant side effects. A coconut oil detox is an excellent way to cleanse without using complicated formulas or living off nothing but water for days on end. Coconut oil is a powerful cleansing food that also provides plenty of natural energy during a detox."

How to save more money on your cell phone bills

I've mentioned before about how you can save money on your cell phone bill. Here's another idea for cell phone savings -- and it's one you can use on your landlines, too.

800-GOOG-411 (800-466-4411) will also connect to businesses in Canada. (The programs asks for "city and state"; just give the city and the province for Canadian calls).

This is a good way to save if your cell plan -- like mine -- charges extra for calls to Canada.

(I'm not sure if 800-GOOG-411 can be dialed within Canada. But I did find that it works for calls to the country from the states).

The one who does something

"It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it."

Vince Lombardi
1913-1970, American Football Coach

What you are

"You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are."

Anna Quindlen
Essayist and Novelist

Natural Aromatase Inhibitors are Best Prevention of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women

"(NaturalNews) One of the answers to breast cancer prevention has been right under our noses all along. When diets high in natural foods that inhibit the aromatase enzyme are eaten, breast cancers in postmenopausal women don't get a chance to start, according to research from the University of Munster in Germany. Scientists there have found that aromatase inhibitors are what keep normal cells from developing to the point where they can be classified as Grade 1 cancer."

Being appreciated

"Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret."

Mary Kay Ash
1915-2001, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Watch This BEFORE You Get that Mammogram

Your Diet Can Reduce Your Risk of Prostate Cancer

"A new review assessed whether certain modifications in diet have a beneficial effect on the prevention of prostate cancer. Results suggest that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is beneficial in preventing and treating the cancer."

How To Do What You Have To Do

"How often do you get that heavy feeling that weighs down your entire body so the only thing you really feel like doing is watching TV?

Use these tips to get back to work and see your productivity soar."

Where happiness is found

"Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them."

Robert R. Updegraff
Author of "Be Thankful For Your Troubles"

Eating Mushrooms Slashes Risk of Breast Cancer by Two-Thirds

"(NaturalNews) Regular mushroom consumption can decrease a woman's risk of breast cancer by two thirds, researchers have found."

Happiness

"Remember, happiness doesn't depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think."

Dale Carnegie
1888-1955, Writer and Lecturer

The Real Reason Why Breast Cancer is Plummeting

"A decrease in deaths from breast cancer accounted for 37 percent of the reduction in the death rate among women during the 15-year period. This is largely due to a decreased use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which has been shown to increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer."

This Potent Spice Taken as Little as Once a Week Can Fight Dementia

"New research shows that eating curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The key reason is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric."

Who Knew Preventing Kidney Stones was This Easy?

"The number one risk factor for kidney stones is not drinking enough water. If you aren’t drinking enough, your urine will simply have higher concentrations of substances that can form stones."

After everyone else is asleep

"I do not have superior intelligence or faultless looks. I do not captivate a room or run a mile under six minutes. I only succeeded because I was still working after everyone else went to sleep."

Greg Evans
Novelist

Holding someone down

"As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might."

Marian Anderson
1902-1993, Concert and Opera Singer

Are Clouds Destroying Your Health?

"As you’re likely aware, I live and work in the Seattle area, which gets famously little direct sun. July and August are really our only truly “sunny” months of the year.[1] Sea-Tac airport actually has a “sun gauge” (most airports have rain gauges only), and it records an average 227 days of total cloud cover per year. So since the sun’s not going to do the job for me, I’ve been taking my vitamin D since “waking up” to natural medicine in 1972. Over the years, I’ve increased the amount steadily towards 5,000 IU daily as more and more favorable vitamin D research appeared, especially since vitamin D has been shown to significantly reduce risk of prostate, breast, and colon cancer, and two of these have occurred in my family."

12 Compelling Reasons to Ditch Stress from Your Life

This Hormone Makes Counting Calories Irrelevant

"It is amazing how the little twists and turns of researchers can have such a profound impact on what we generally come to realize as “scientific truth.” Let me share a recent fascinating example of how this impacted one of the most powerful hormones in your body."

How to save on almost everything you buy online

Here's how you save 30% on every web domain you buy.

Search Google for "domains" and "discounts." At the
top of the page, you will see an ad for GoDaddy. It sells
domain registration for $6.99.

On its site, this costs $9.99.

Likewise, when you're buying anything online, so a search first: Google whatever item or service plus "discount."

Take off your shoes

If your work takes you into homes, here's an idea that will help you with patient relations for a segment of the population.

In some Asian cultures, the bottom of the foot is considered unclean or otherwise undesirable. (I won't go into all the details).

As such, in many of these cultures folks take off their shoes before entering a house.

If you go to a home where there are rows of shoes out front or just inside the door, I encourage you to take a cue, and remove your shoes as well.

Not that you have to: unless you are of a similar culture, it will be assumed that you don't know better. But removing your shoes is a gracious and thoughtful gesture, and your clients and their families will appreciate that you do so.

Avoid health care bureaucrats

One of the problems (from a professional nursing standpoint: there are lots of problems from a public and consumer standpoint) of a national health insurance plan is that nurses will be paid less than we are now.

You can count on it. Government bureaucrats will be rewarded for cutting costs in public ways, such as for salaries and benefits for nurses. (Costs for other things will balloon up, but you can count on your pay not being one of those).

You will become a commodity. A commodity is an inter-changeable part. In other words, a nurse is a nurse is a nurse, and there will be nothing to stop bureaucrats from setting nurses' salaries low.

What you need to do is avoid being a commodity.

The way you avoid that is by developing a skill or specialty that's not covered by a national health insurance plan. There's nothing wrong with being a staff nurse in a hospital or care facility. But staff nurses will become targets for people who know nothing about how nursing operates or what we provide to clients.

I've suggested before that you think about completing a nurse practitioner program. This isn't ideal -- you would still be employed and under the control of a national health insurance bureaucracy. But there will be a substantial increase in primary caregivers such as NPs when a national health insurance program comes into effect.

In a national health insurance climate, some MDs go outside of that by specializing in areas such as plastic surgery or other such areas which aren't covered by the national health insurance, and as such, aren't subject to price controls by the government. I suggest you start now by looking for a similar area that you can go into. Some ideas are working with insurance companies, travel nursing, aesthetic and cosmetic surgery nursing and other such ideas.

What you want to avoid is being labeled "just a nurse." The just-a-nurses are sitting targets for bureaucrats. Unless you want a very unhappy career, I suggest you avoid being in their sights.

Can Selenium Cause Diabetes?

"Americans with diabetes have been found to have high levels of selenium in their bodies, leading some experts to believe that it could contribute to development of the disease. A research team has now recommended that U.S. residents stop taking supplements that contain selenium."

Media Blasts Oprah for Supporting Alternative Medicine

"Now, Oprah has been targeted by big industries before, such as when she dared talk about Mad Cow disease on her show – a topic that brought her a lawsuit by the meat industry.

But Oprah is not the only one in the crosshairs of what can only be described as an organized smear campaign against alternative medicine.

There’s a disturbing trend taking shape, with a recent onslaught of media articles seeking to put a bad spin on various complementary, alternative medicine and natural medicine options. The misinformation campaign is shifting into higher gear. Is it a very deliberate and concerted media strategy?"

Having -- and sharing

"The miracle is this - the more we share, the more we have."

Leonard Nimoy
Actor

Risks

"Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first."

Frederick Wilcox
Writer

Low Vitamin D May Be Root Cause of Cancer

"Reporting online in the current Annals of Epidemiology, they point to a host of research that suggests cancer develops when cells lose the ability to stick together in a healthy, normal way -- and the key factor to this initial triggering of a malignancy could well be a lack of vitamin D."

Can Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Alzheimer's Disease?

"There are several risk factors for the development of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. An increasing number of studies link these risk factors with vitamin D deficiency. Dr. William B. Grant of the Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC) suggests that further investigation of possible direct or indirect linkages between vitamin D and these dementias are needed."

Our dignity

"One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered."

Michael J. Fox
Actor

Savings on your cell phone bills

Here's an easy way to save money on your cell phone.

If your plan has a "calling circle" or some other such way that you can designate certain callers for unlimited calling, here's a number to add: 800-GOOG-411. (800-466-4411)

GOOG-411 is one of the Google corporation's recent innovations. Call this number, and you speak the name of the business (and the city and state where the business is located) and you get connected.

There's no charge from Google. And if you designate GOOG-411 as one of your free numbers, there's no charge from your cell company. What's more, this is really good for when you're on the road, and aren't able to look up a number. Or when you don't have the number.

It's really easy, really good, and using this plan, can even be free.

Working for the future

"Only those who constantly retool themselves stand a chance of staying employed in the years ahead."

Tom Peters
Author

The Key Vitamin for Bone Health that Most People Don't Know About

"Vitamin K is often referred to as the 'forgotten vitamin' because it is continually overshadowed by more well known nutrients. Yet, this fat-soluble vitamin is absolutely essential to build strong bones, as it serves as the biological "glue" that helps plug the calcium into your bone matrix."

What Surprising Exercise Cuts Your Cancer Risk by 40 Percent?

"Men with stronger muscles from regular weight training are up to 40 percent less likely to die from cancer, according to new research.

The findings suggest that muscular strength is as important as staying slim and eating healthy when it comes to protecting your body against deadly tumors."

Magnesium Benefits Your Blood Pressure

"Magnesium may reduce blood pressure in people with high blood pressure, according to new findings. The study adds to data from epidemiological studies that have reported more magnesium, potassium and calcium may reduce your risk of hypertension."

New Model Of Cancer Development: Vitamin D is the Key

"Researchers studying the preventive effects of vitamin D on cancer have proposed a new model of cancer development that hinges on a loss of cancer cells' ability to stick together. The model, dubbed DINOMIT, differs from the older model of cancer development, which suggests genetic mutations as the earliest driving forces behind cancer."

The 20 Cancer Symptoms Women Are Most Likely to Ignore

"Don't rely on routine tests alone to protect you from cancer. It's just as important to listen to your body and notice anything that's different, odd, or unexplainable. Here are some signs that are commonly overlooked."

Go Out and Play!

"Everyone knows that play is important for kids. Play teaches them coordination, adult roles, social interaction, and basic problem-solving skills. But somehow, many people have fallen prey to the idea that play is only important for kids."

Trying once more

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try one more time."

Thomas Edison
1847-1931, Inventor and Entrepreneur

The best you have

"Give to the world the best you have, and the best will come back to you."

Ella Wheeler Wilcox
1855-1919, Poet and Journalist

Courage

"In every success story, you find someone who has made a courageous decision."

Peter F. Drucker
Management Consultant and Author

Is Natural Medicine One of Your Freedoms?

"As of May 20, police around the country were on the lookout for a Minnesota mother who fled with her cancer-stricken 13 year old son rather than consent to chemotherapy.

Colleen Hauser had told a judge that she wished to treat her son's cancer with natural healing methods advocated by an American Indian religious group known as the Nemenhah Band.

Daniel has Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer. But the teen and his parents rejected chemo after a single treatment, with the boy's mother saying that putting toxic substances in the body violates the family's religious convictions.

The Hauser family had been ordered to appear before a judge for a hearing to consider chemo. But mother and son failed to show, and a warrant was issued for the mother's arrest."

Slash Incidence of Infant Eczema and Allergy by 58%

"Daily supplements of probiotic foods may reduce the risk of eczema in children by 58 percent, according to a new study.

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is one of the first signs of allergy during the early days of life and is said to be due to delayed development of the immune system. It affects between 10 percent to 20 percent of all infants."

The best job

"The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses."

Napoleon Hill
1883-1970

Turmeric May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s

"Turmeric, which is called the spice of life in ancient Indian lore, might help fight Alzheimer’s, according to initial stages of a study.

The spice is an integral ingredient in curry, and tests on laboratory rats have provided evidence that curry helps prevent dementia."

Common Irregular Heartbeats are Completely Normalized by Taurine and Arginine

"(NaturalNews) Irregular heartbeats, technically known as cardiac arrhythmias, put more than 850,000 people in the hospital every year in the U.S. That number is expected to increase as the population ages. Many others are treated on an outpatient basis for frightening erratic heartbeats that can feel like the heart is doing flutters and flip-flops. Drugs are often prescribed but don't always work, and patients are started down a path that can end up with heart surgery. The good news is that recent research has identified two natural, easily obtained substances that can restore heartbeats to normal."

Healthy Essential Fatty Acid Balance Alters Genes, Protects from Disease

"(NaturalNews) Omega-3 fatty acids have been put to the test in a number of studies in recent years -- and the findings have provided strong evidence that having enough of this essential fatty acid (EFA) in the body is a key to preventing and even treating a long list of maladies. But why do 21st century humans seem to need regular doses of omega-3s, whether from food or supplements, for optimum health? Surely, our ancestors didn't need to pop fish oil pills daily."

Effective Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis is Completely Free with Vitamin D

"(NaturalNews) There are few effective treatments for the Neurologic problem called Multiple Sclerosis. Sufferers tend to get progressively worse and often end up in wheelchairs, unable to even perform the simplest tasks by themselves. But a new study is showing that effective treatment is right outside the door- in the form of the inexpensive and even FREE- Vitamin D."

Lack of Vitamin D Linked to Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia

"(NaturalNews) Researchers have found that low serum levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased risk for host of health problems ranging from diabetes and osteoporosis to depression, dental cavities and periodontal disease. What's more, in 2008, numerous studies concluded that people with higher serum levels of vitamin D had a greatly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease as well as a lowered chance of death due to cardiac causes. Curiously, all of these seemingly separate conditions are either known risk factors for dementia or tend to strike before dementia is diagnosed. Now scientist William B. Grant, PhD, of the Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC) has put these facts together and has come up with a startling new hypothesis about the cause of mind-robbing Alzheimer's disease and other vascular dementias: vitamin D deficiency."

How Parasites Can Trick Your Immune System into Health

"Immune system disorders have greatly increased in recent years. Asthma cases, hay fever, eczema, food allergies, lupus, multiple sclerosis and other related afflictions are all on the rise.

Could it be that this increase in autoimmune-type diseases is actually related to being too clean and too sterile … and that exposing ourselves to more dirt and even to parasites could be the solution?"

The Five Reasons Why You Are Not Fulfilling Your Potential

"Very few people can claim that they have achieved all that they are capable of. Do you have a nagging feeling that you could do much, much more with your life and career?

What is that is stopping you right now from making a much greater contribution to society? What is that is preventing you from fulfilling your potential?"

Emergency Nurse Practitioners in Australia

This is a well done introduction to what nurse practitioners do. It's Australian, so there are differences, but this is a good insight, especially for people who wonder, "What do nurses do?"

Facts about Grapes and Their Amazing Health Benefits are Proven

"A study done at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center fed groups of rats with enriched grape powder made from a mixture of red, green and black table grapes, including the skins and seeds. All of the rats were from a research breed that develops high blood pressure when fed a lot of salt. Half the rats were put on a high salt diet and another half on a low-salt diet. A third group of rats were designed as the control group and had no grape powder added to their food. After 18 weeks, the rats that ate the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation, and less signs of heart muscle damage compared to the rats that ate the same salty diet without the grape powder."

Studies Show Selenium Prevents Cancer and Thyroid Disease

"(NaturalNews) Selenium is an essential trace mineral that forms an important part of our immune defense function, as well as a component in heart muscle. Found naturally in animal protein and vegetables, it is also found in fish, vegetables, and especially Brazil nuts. Its anti-oxidant functions have now been shown to reduce the risk of many cancers as well as thyroid disease, infertility and arthritis. There is even a suggestion that selenium alters genes that cause cancer."

Common Chemicals Threaten Male Fertility

"A leading scientist has warned that chemicals found in many food, cosmetic and cleaning products pose a real threat to male fertility. Professor Richard Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council, says that these hormone-disrupting chemicals are "feminizing" boys in the womb, leading to rising rates of birth defects, testicular cancer, and low sperm counts."

Achieving what you want

"You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end."

Sidney A. Friedman
Entrepreneur, Speaker and Author

Wolfram Alpha: not your father's search engine

A new search engine? No, a device that answers your questions. When I first saw this, I thought it was a Google competitor. But it really answers your questions. This is revolutionary.

Here's an intro:

A little bit more

"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd; a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more."

A. Lou Vickery
Writer

Continuing ed on Youtube

A few months ago, I began doing some work involving ventilators. It has been a while since I've worked with vent patients, and even longer since nursing school. In addition to the orientation, I needed to review my theoretical stuff on respiratory. I found youtube very, very helpful. Here's a good theoretical overview for ventilator types and modes. But almost any area of clinical practice has instruction on youtube. It's a free place to get the best of continuing education.